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The omega-3 fatty acid called DHA, found only in algae and fish, plays key functional and structural roles in all human cells, but is especially important to brain and eye function.

Practically speaking, the retina of the eye is a layer of brain tissue that receives energy from light, which it changes to biochemical and electrical signals to the brain, producing the mental phenomenon called “sight.”

The retina uses specialized photoreceptor cells called rods and cones to process light. Rod and cone cells are extraordinarily rich in DHA. A shortage of dietary DHA leads to a shortage of retinal DHA, which in turn reduces visual acuity.

Omega-3 DHA in the retina’s cells is used to make a substance called neuroprotectin D1. This substance protects retinal pigment cells from damage and destruction. In addition, DHA itself helps protect the retina’s pigment cells.

These twin protective actions help explain why people who eat fish more than once a week have significantly lower rates of AMD, according to the results of population studies.

Omega-3s and vitamin D may indeed constitute the major eye-health constituents in fish, but wild Salmon are also rich in astaxanthin, which appears beneficial.

This highly potent antioxidant pigment exerts effects similar to those of its fellow xanthophyll-type carotenes—lutein and zeaxanthin —which are routinely prescribed by eye doctors because higher consumption of each compound is associated with reduced risk of AMD and cataracts (Parisi V et al. 2008; Bhosale P, Bernstein PS 2005).

New study affirms the role of omega-3s in eye health

The fish-vision connection has been strengthened by yet another population study linking higher omega-3 intake to reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The findings show that eating one portion of omega-3-rich fish every week may halve the risk of developing the advanced, “wet” form of AMD (Augood C et al. 2008).

A team led by Astrid Fletcher of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine recruited 105 people aged 65 years with wet AMD, and 2,170 healthy people to act as controls.

People who reported eating at least one serving of fatty fish per week were 50 percent less likely to have wet AMD, compared to people who ate less than one fatty fish portion per week.

As expected, people whose reported diets contained at least an estimated 300 mg per day of either of the two key omega-3s in fish fat—DHA and EPA—were about 70 percent less likely to have wet AMD, compared to participants with lower estimated DHA or EPA consumptions.

(DHA is the key eye nutrient... EPA intake most likely served as marker for intake of DHA, since both omega-3s occur in fish, in roughly equal proportions.)

The study was funded by the European Commission, the Macular Disease Society UK, and the Thomas Pocklington Trust.

Clinical trials needed for confirmation

To date, there have been no randomized clinical trials (RCTs) testing the potential of omega-3s to reduce the risk of AMD.

Fish fit the vitamin D bill; Sockeye salmon stand out

Certain fish rank among the very few substantial food sources of vitamin D, far outranking milk and other D-fortified foods.

Among fish, wild Sockeye Salmon may be the richest source of all, with a single 3.5 ounce serving surpassing the US RDA of 400 IU by about 70 percent:

While meta-analyses of population studies suggest that eating fatty fish twice or more per week—or taking fish oil regularly—may play an important role in the prevention of AMD, medical associations and public health authorities do not yet routinely recommend omega-3s and fish for this purpose.

This failure of medical authorities to act on the clear implications of ample epidemiological and laboratory evidence on the preventive potential of an essential human nutrient seems irresponsible.